From John H.:
You hear I broke my ankle? Two weeks ago….riding my motorcycle in the sandhills on my way to the black hills, riding in a tire track of a double track country road, it was a bit of a rut, and my left foot , toe, caught on something and folded my foot under the footpeg. Pop. Ouch. (I do wear off road cycling boots). Broke the outside ankle bone and bruised my metatarsal bones (toe area). I thought it was just bruised, so I continued to ride, trying to get out of the double track no-man’s land when I hit some mud and wiped out…now mind you I’m in the middle of nowhere, no cell service, on a “road” by definition only, with a broken foot, needing to pick up a 500 pound motorcycle on a slippery surface. My first attempt was rather desperate, I got it half way up, but just couldn’t lift it with so much pain in my foot. So I took off all the bags, tent, and gear, drug the bike into the middle of the road for a better angle, and was finally able to get it upright. He lives. Bags, gear and protective gear back on and I continued to ride 6 more hours west (towards the black hills) when I finally concluded past Alliance, NE that, gosh, this hurts, maybe I should go home. So then I rode 7 hours straight home, shifting all the way with a broken ankle.
It was so swollen I thought it was sprained, even did some research on the web..one week later, swelling went down, pain didn’t so I went to the Dr. Dr’s x-ray confirmed a break…he put me in a walking boot for a week…so I walked around for a week on it, 2nd x-ray confirmed need for surgery….had surgery this morning (6-17)…4 weeks in a cast, then 2 weeks in a walking boot…..I missed last summer due to my broken ribs suffered on a crash in Fruita mountain biking. Am I getting clumsy or what?
So, I’ve got some reading time J
Sunday, June 20
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2 comments:
This reminded me of Doug L. riding at Manawa, crashing, and riding more. At the end of the ride, he had a softball size swelling. Got home and laid down, couldn't get up. Called 911, went into shock on the way to the hospital. They stopped to put more blood in him before continuing. He had crushed a vein in his leg and was bleeding out.
Chris P. turned an ankle on a rooted climb. Tried to ride some more but went back to the car and waited for the rest of us to finish the lap. X-rays showed he broke his ankle in two places.
Then John, who if he hadn't got his motorcycle back up, would have had a long walk best case, or become buzzard meat worse case.
There is good pain, bad pain, and unfamiliar pain. Let's pay close attention to our bodies, and err on the side of caution when experiencing bad or unfamiliar pain, especially after a crash.
good advice Dale. The superstitious sailor in me will also knock on wood, and throw some salt over my left shoulder. Seems like alot of people are getting hurt recently. maybe we are just getting old.
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